What has the response been so far to Of Entropy And Life Denial?
Perversifier: It’s been excellent. Reviews are all very positive, and people seem to like it. 3000 copies have already been spread in one month, so let’s see if it continues.
How has the band's sound evolved since the last album?
The production is much better on this CD. It took us three weeks to record this new album, in Necromorbus studio (Sweden), while the previous one had been recorded in 3 days. You can’t even compare. The sound of this opus is really dense, powerful, thick and cold, but not too clean.
How come there was a 4 years span between albums?
A lot of lineup changes have altered the band, until we found the perfect members again. We’ve also played a lot of live gigs, including two European tours. We like to take our time and compose quality, and not necessarily in quantity.
What does the CD title Of Entropy and Life Denial signify?
The entropy is a physical measurement of the disorder rate of a system. It’s the law of chaos. Every systems tends to naturally increase its entropy, thus to go from a stable state to a state of higher chaos. As for the life denial, it’s explicit enough. Everything tends to rot, everything tends to die.
What inspired the lyrics on the album?
Personal visions of Terrorizt, ideological discussions, philosophy, observation of our dying world, belief in Satan, and worship of death and chaos.
Did you specifically request the album be released in the U.S. on 6/6/06?
Yes, this was an occasion to not miss. It was the perfect date to offer this sacrifice on the altar of our Lord.
Are all members of Merrimack Satanists, or is all the imagery just a theatrical device?
Theatrical device? Are you kidding? We wouldn’t dare in making our Lord this offense. We totally worship the devil and give him all our allegiance. We are religious, we are his slaves.
What drew you to the darker side of things?
The acceptance of truth and the opening of our eyes. Things are obvious when you are touched by the faith. Faith is not rational, you receive it and you accept it. No need to explain it, it’s vain.
In what country does Merrimack have the most fans?
I would say USA and Germany. USA because many of our releases have been put out by American labels, who did a great promotion job over there. Germany because we’ve played a lot of gigs there, and the German public is composed of extreme diehards with a full comprehension of the metal realm and the black metal cult.
Have you had positive reception in the United States?
Yes, so far the reaction in the USA is excellent. We’re featured in most major metal mags, and we receive a lot of feedback from this country. We hope to tour there someday.
How did you get started in music?
I started playing guitar 15 years ago. I just needed an outlet to express all the feelings tormenting me. Music was an excellent way to convey all this pent up energy.
Who were your musical inspirations?
We listen to various things, from black, death, thrash, doom, drone, stoner, old school heavy metal, even some electronic music, new wave, classical music. Inspiration comes from the mixing up of all those influences.
Who are some current artists you admire?
We still are really much into old school metal, the Swedish death metal scene from the '80s, the old stuff like Celtic Frost, Venom, Bathory, Von, Blasphemy, and also Iron Maiden, old Sepultura, the modern Swedish black metal scene. Anyone who has been a precursor in the metal genre.
What is the black metal scene like in France?
It’s huge and there are some really interesting bands. I would mention Mutiilation, Arkhon Infaustus, Antaeus, Temple of Baal, Blacklodge, Diapsiquir, Hell Militia, Vorkreist. It’s also full of useless (crap), as everywhere else.
Are you able to make a living playing music, or do you have day jobs?
No way we can live from our music. It’s not in selling few thousands records that you can stop working. We all have a regular job. Though we don’t consider music as a “hobby”, it’s our passion, the priority thing. The job is secondary, and the necessary key to open the doors of our passion.
